Amway is a American-based corporation involved in the direct sale of consumer goods. The company has no store or warehouse; rather, all of its products are sold by individual sales team members. The goods produced and sold through the company are diverse, covering everything from jewelry and cosmetics to health care products and cleaning supplies. Many people look to the company as a way to get started in a work-from-home career or as a way to supplement income from other sources. The organization offers incentives both for high volume sales and for recruiting others to join the sales team.

History

The company was founded in 1959 in Michigan under the name “American Way.” Many of the first products sold were vitamins and health supplements, and consumers who were satisfied were invited to join the team as independent salesmen and saleswomen themselves. Before long, the company had expanded throughout the United States, and later spread to Canada, Australia, and Europe.

Business Structure

Amway's sellers are called Independent Business Owners (IBOs). Most of the time, IBOs are recruited by others within the company. When they join, they join under their recruiter’s name and a portion of their profits are generally shuttled to that recruiter. They must also usually pay a flat “membership fee” to the corporation in order to stay on as active sellers.

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Commission-Based Sales

The goal of any independent salesperson is to make as many sales as possible, but the Amway model seems to emphasize volume particularly. Much of this has to do with the company’s commission structure. It works by assigning a Points Value (PV) to each of its products, which determines how much commission the seller makes from the sale. The PV of a given good is the same regardless of the country it is sold in, and as such, this value can be thought of as a common Amway currency used around the world.

The amount of a product that is sold is known as the Business Volume. This figure is used to determine the value of the product in local currency. The commission level for each seller can then be determined and paid monthly. In most cases, the more people an IBO has recruited to work under him, the more he is able to make in commission and total profits — though much of this depends on the productivity of those on the lower tiers. As such, employee motivation and enthusiasm is a big part of the sales model. Amway is known in many places for its sales conventions and conferences, where positive attitudes and high-energy speakers are commonplace.

Pin Levels

Sales employees within the company are usually recognized and paid based on their level. The different levels within the company are known as pin levels, and the higher a person’s pin level, the more money he is bringing in — both for himself and for the corporation — each month. Pins are named after precious gems or metal, like Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. A person who has reached the Platinum level should be earning enough money from sales and IBO commission to have a full time wage. If a person reaches the Diamond level, he or she will typically earn a six figure income from the work of his IBOs alone — and in some cases, can stop independent sales altogether. This sort of financial freedom is rare, but possible.

Criticism

Amway has come under fire at several points throughout history for being a pyramid scheme. Pyramid schemes are generally understood to be abusive business practices where work is forced upon lower-level employees so that more senior workers can profit, often with little to no independent effort. Lower-level workers often find it hard to make much money under these conditions.

Other critics have alleged that the company is in some way a fraud or scam. Most of these claims relate to the sometimes disproportionate amount of money the company makes by selling marketing and training material to IBOs. While it is true that some new recruits do have negative experiences, the company has generally been able to defend itself against allegations of illegal or immoral business practices. Though it has been fined by some government entities, it has also won a number of corporate awards over the years.

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anon999719Post 130

What really hurts me is that my friend was using our friendship for his personal gain when he brought me to the seminar. If he had told me straight up that he was going to take me to an Amway meeting, I wouldn't have gone to the meeting. I questioned him about the business ethics of Amway. But he has been well-programmed at this point because he really believes he is helping people out by converting his friendship network into a chance for his promotion. I don't really care if you can get 6 figures a month as your income stream; if you lose a critical distance to yourself, you have lost your ethical integrity.

anon991836Post 129

I have used some of your products and I really love it. I am thinking of joining the team. Thank you.

anon953434Post 126

I am a low-level IBO and am not "abused" and work is not "forced" on me. It is also not a pyramid because the recruit has the ability to make more than the recruiter if he works harder. I personally know of one IBO who received a larger check than his recruiter and that was not deemed unusual. The article expresses Amway falsely as a pyramid.

anon943508Post 124

Scamway! I recently went to an Amway meeting after being invited by my brother. I was surprised to see that all but maybe two people there were clearly struggling and not bringing in the bucks like they claim when they are giving their pitch. There was one successful looking guy who was clearly an "upline" who sold these people the dream. (Ever hear an Amway person say I met a millionaire?)

Well, I saw my brother’s fiance’ do the "business" for nine years without success and still living at home, racking up credit card debt paying for products and saw my brother losing a job and a car trying to commit to the "business" by going on trips, missing work

and lying about his finances to appear successful so we would join. This is on top of all the time both have lost with family who are not part of Amway because of all the time spent at "meetings".

I would not join the scam and chase the "Diamond Life." The Amway creator is a genius! Imagine a company that would allow an unsuccessful employee to work unsuccessfully for years and years without firing them, not giving them a retirement plan, not giving them health benefits, making them work on the weekends (in order to become successful you have to go to meetings), making them pay for their training, and make them pay for the products they sell. I don't want to work for that company.

You could do Amway for 20 years and achieve nothing, not even experience that you could put on your resume. At any legitimate company, working for 20 years would leave you with retirement funds, experience you could put on a resume, and a consistent check. On top of that, Amway get their "IBO's" to recruit family. My brother actually tried to convince me to join after he barely made any money for years. What kind of person tries to get a person to get into a business when they themselves haven't achieved success? (Jump off the bridge with me.)

Lastly I strongly disagree but think its genius how Amway wraps Christianity into its company -- because Christians have faith they should also have faith in the "Business". I think this is very low. In my area, we have an Amway church where all the Amway fake business owners go and are taught to never give up, even if it’s nine years of being unsuccessful. Well in the Bible it says, if it’s not God's will then it will feel like you’re trying to push a camel up a hill. Amway users often confuse their will with God's will. All in all, the Amway creator is a genius to get employees to pay to work and if you are gullible enough to go with it, you deserve to lose valuable time and money.

These people call themselves entrepreneurs, but they are just opportunists and money suckers. They don’t add any value to the society. You meet any of these guys, and they don't speak about their products, they speak about the money that you can make and the free trips that you get. You think of any brand or company and you will always see a product that they stand for or are known for. Amway, by the way, is never known for any product. Product is just a shadow to recruit people, which makes it legal. There is seriously no money in selling the product or it’s better to say the product is not sellable, so all they do is canvas the

next person who buys the product with the same dream that they can recruit new to get profit.

The business model is logically a disaster. As the chain expands, it gets more and more impossible to get recruits and reaches a point where recruiting the whole population won’t be enough to the new recruit to make any possible profit.

So the vast majority of people who joined in the end and made money for the first ones in the chain end up as the losers. So all you can hope is you are not the last one, and the later you join, the chances of you becoming the last one are significantly higher.

Amway is an awesome opportunity. It grants you the options to do what you want to do on a daily basis and actually have a lifestyle of your choice. no 9-5 jobs, no asking your boss for a dollar raise and no limited income. With the Amway Opportunity you are your own boss, you pay yourself and you are in control of your own time and life. This is the opportunity to free yourself from the chains and restraints that you are in while having a corporate job. This is the opportunity to live.

anon354348Post 116

So I am only a teenager and my parents are in this business. They just achieved the Eagle level. I plan to do the same as them and retire at 25. This business is great. They call us family and we call them same.

My parents may not be able to make every game of mine, but that's because they're building this business for me and our family. I don't care what anyone has to say about this business, but if you hang around the people I do, you would actually understand the word family. This is not bullcrap. They support and love you and want to work with people who have dreams and want to chase those dreams so

they can live the life they were supposed to live.

I've gone to business meetings and functions and I got to witness a family get praised, cheered on, and looked up to for achieving an amazing level in this business! They want to see you achieve that level too! I met a millionaire and he treated me as if I was at that level with him. He didn't treat me as if I were a beginner or just another human being in this world taking up air.

So if you are wondering what Amway is, Amway is family, work, effort, trust, love, achievement and real.

(P.S. you have to work and put effort in this business to actually achieve anything in this business, same as life, or you end up playing follow the leader.)

People who do not have good a opinion about Amway have a right to think so, but for me, as an ABO, I know in the world nothing is easy. If anything is easy, it is not worthwhile. In the Amway association, nobody gives false promises to make money, but they clearly say it is a part time effort without investment for the people who would like to make extra income in their leisure time.

In addition, people involved have opportunities to move into better communities to live better. I think if I was not involved, I would have spent this whole time watching TV. Amway is a better place to make good income. Otherwise, our leisure time goes for nothing.

anon340078Post 114

I was first introduced to Amway when I was almost 19. I didn't know what I wanted to do and this girl I went to school with introduced me to this business. I was first mesmerized when they would always say, "Do you want to be retired by the time you're 24? Because you can!" I signed up and paid the fee and everything, but as I stayed in the business, anytime I had a question, the answer was always, "You'll see why later in the business." I also felt like the meetings were the same every single week.

When I wanted to cancel, the girl who signed me up was saying,"Oh, so-and-so is kicking butt right

now! You should stay!" and when I asked how well she was doing, the response was, "I can't tell you but she's doing good!"

I just didn't appreciate how I wasn't really told how things worked. I was also told I wasn't allowed to speak to that person anymore and when I asked why, again the response was, "You'll understand why later." Basically, what I'm trying to say is that it is possible to be wealthy with this business, but it's just not my cup of tea.

I'm a former IBO. I'm not doing it anymore because it was not my cup of tea. I'm very surprised that no one mentioned all of the wonderful tax write offs there are. There are enough to more than cover your tools. I was always skeptical of the business, but never found anything to merit my skepticism. I really have nothing negative to say about it. I just was not crazy about talking to people and sometimes the response was very negative.

anon331747Post 112

I have been an Amway IBO for two years. I gave a lot of my time for the first year attending weekly meetings, quarterly conferences, etc. I met a lot of great people who are making a lot of money.

The diamonds in the business are very intelligent people who could motivate anyone to do anything. I found that for the amount of time I was giving, I wasn't getting the return I wanted. Maybe I didn't work it hard enough, IDK. But I am still an IBO because I love the products and I get them for 30 percent off.

I still attend meetings every once in a while just because they are inspirational and make you want to

try harder at life in general. Some of the people are pushy, and borderline obnoxious, but most of them are just really ambitious, decent people. I have nothing negative to say about Amway. I tried it, and couldn't make it go. No harm, no foul.

@post 109: I personally know a millionaire in Amway and have met over a dozen millionaires in Amway. If the economy crashes, no one's degree will be worth anything because no one will be hiring. I have my degree in education (same as my mom and both grandparents) and I made more money as a weight loss coach than my mom does as a teacher. Education has nothing to do with your success. All a degree does is get you a better job. No one on the Forbes 400 has a job, they all own businesses.

What do these people have in common: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Mike Dell? They are all billionaires who dropped out of

school.

Being an entrepreneur has nothing to do with degrees; it has to do with learning to think like a successful person. You can't learn how to think like a business owner from a teacher because they aren't a business owner, they are a teacher. Perhaps they can teach you theory, but they cannot teach you experience and that is far more valuable. You cannot teach what you haven't done. Remember this is coming from someone who has an education degree.

As for your son, he's been in business one year, so give him a break! You've been at your job for how long and you're not a millionaire yet, either. If he does what is taught and doesn't give up, he will be successful. And if you want to see your son succeed, support him in the form of taking an interest in getting to know who is coaching him and what is being taught. That means taking more than one night to see a presentation and assuming you know it all. Take a few months to get around what he's doing and really learn. If I went to your workplace for a few hours one day and then professed to be an expert at your job, you'd probably be a bit insulted by my arrogance.

As for Amway, yes, my husband and I are involved. We have paid off over half a million dollars of debt in just over two years and at the end of this year my husband will retire. Our parents were just like you when we started and now they have said to us, "we are so glad you didn't listen to us when we told you to quit," because our parents have taken the time to get to know our coaches and what we are learning, even though we are almost 30 years old and clearly at an age where we can make our own decisions. We appreciate our parents for doing that.

As for the explanation of what Amway is, there is an incorrect statement. An upline does not take a cut of the downline's profit. Each person keeps all the profit they make. If an IBO makes a bonus, that bonus comes out of their upline bonus, so the upline actually pays the downline.

I'm not looking to start a fight with anyone. I'm grateful for what Amway has provided us. My husband and I made a lot of money in our corporate jobs, and we are what society considered "successful". But we never saw each other and had no time in our life. The four couples who coach us are all retired and the oldest couple is 33 years old. We didn't see the money; we saw what the money could do: give me my husband back and give him his wife back.

We are now in the process of making our plans to retire our parents. If we didn't have what Amway has given us, none of this would be possible.

I don't mean to push my ideals or views on others. I merely wanted to say that this business is great only if you are building it with great, ethical people. Our coaches sat with us many times until 2 a.m. while I cried at our table about our debts and they stuck by us and helped us become debt free. We owe them indefinitely for the life we have now and the incredible friendship they have given us.

I hope if you are involved you have an incredible upline like we do, and I hope you pay that forward and serve your downline and help them the way your upline helped you.

My son has "joined" Amway. I didn't have a problem with it as it was a part time endeavor to make some money while he attended university for his degree.

Well, after being involved for a year, he really has not made enough money to even pay his room and board. The problem I have with a company like this is that they pump his head so full of crap that he has lost focus on reality. He no longer values an education because he is told he will be a self made millionaire by the time he is 29. My advice to him is keep it very part time and continue with his degree because even if the entire

economy and banking systems collapse, no one can take away his degree, and that is something that will always make him money.

For anyone telling him or others anything else, they are not looking out for their well being but are only worried about lost income from their own pockets. I have never heard of a millionaire made from Amway, but have heard of them from hard work and a good education.

I find it tragic that many who comment miss the point. Is Amway a good business? Let the numbers tell their story. Recently somebody showed me the plan with a piece of paper which at the bottom said this: "disclaimer, only .0044 will reach the Direct level." That's just terrible!

It means five out of 1,000.

According to "The Millionaire Next Door," out of 100 million households, 5 million have fortunes that put them in the millionaire list. That means out of 200 IBOs, one will become Direct. Less than $4000.00/month. What part of this do you IBOs and Amway defenders not understand? Numbers don't lie. We humans do. And Amway people are masters of it. The tools

are a scam. It costs less than a dollar to produce a video. If your upline knows you will benefit and create a bigger business for him/her when you grow as a person, why doesn't he/she give you the tools at cost? Duh!

Scamway is the worst crap I've ever been invited to. Why is every salesperson's sponsor supposedly a retired doctor who is making more money selling these products than when they were practicing medicine? I've never heard one honest statement at a sales presentation. It's all a bunch of bullcrap aimed at manipulating you to buy products in order to make your sponsor rich.

If the company was half as great as these liars claim, they would talk to you about it like real people, instead of inviting you to some behind closed doors secret meeting where they all gang up on you, lie to you, and try to trick you into believing this lame business is cool. I'm supposed to do this crap to my good friends? How embarrassing can you get?

anon317475Post 106

For those of you who think Amway is a scam or a pyramid, that is your opinion. I enjoy the time that I am able to spend with other leaders and business owners who remain optimistic and excited about their future. I am also able to learn from others who are at a level in the business where they do not have to go to a corporate job and are able to spend as much time as they want with their families, their spouses, their children, their communities. And that to me, is priceless!

Anyone has a right to like or hate the Amway Corporation. You can also continue to work harder at your current job while the government continues

to take more of your pay and benefits away -- one piece at a time. The key to Amway and the reason I believe the corporation is so successful is you cannot make a lot of money, nor will you ever obtain your freedom from working a job, until you help the people on your team build their business also!

If you can find another business opportunity that is willing to do that for you, maybe you should go work there. I'm pretty sure Amway and the business owners that are affiliated are going to continue to grow, with or without you!

All businesses are pyramid schemes. All the people at the top of every corporation make more money than the people at the bottom. We need to get rid of business pyramids and pay everyone in a company the same amount because everyone has value and the company would not run without everyone!

anon305769Post 103

I find it very interesting reading these posts. I was first introduced to Amway in 1963 with a group out of Indianapolis, IN. My sponsor was directly sponsored by another gentleman.

I built my business up to where we were making $500 a month consistently. I know many of you may say, “Only $500?” Remember, that was 50 years ago when the minimum wage was $1.75 an hour. That was not bad money. I would have to say most of you are spoiled.

Anyway, our business was growing great when my wife and I started having some marital problems (don't let anyone fool you; the problems were not Amway related) and we decided to get a divorce. However, I do

give Amway credit for the fact we were in a mindset where we were able to divorce with dignity. In the process, I signed my part of the business over to my wife and the inventory we had built up, since she had never worked in her life and had no means of income except through Amway. My intention was to leave Amway for six months (those were the rules at that time) and then start over again.

Well as things go, I was into my own business dealing with airplanes and never got back to Amway. I have always considered that to be one of the biggest mistakes of my life. As you know, I must be a little older than most of you reading these blogs. When some people are not successful at anything, including Amway, it is always somebody else's fault. You ever notice that? There are people in this world who want you to think they know it all, so when you see negative just tell yourself this person is a failure!

When someone refers to pyramids and Amway, they don't know what they are talking about. Pyramids are illegal and if Amway was a pyramid it would have been shut down 10 times over in its 53 years of business. There have been some people try to make Amway a pyramid, and those have been requested to leave the business. You are probably reading some of their blogs here.

I have bloviated enough. If you are young enough to build a large business, I believe you can't do much better than Amway as your choice. Just remember: it takes education, time, and effort -- yours! Not someone else's. Good luck in what ever endeavors you get involved with.-- Bob A.

Well, I've been in Amway for two months so far, and I must say that this is not a scam. I am also with LTD, a third party support group partnered with Amway. I've gotten emails from LTD stressing control of your finances. They've stressed that the business materials are optional and that's it. I personally use direct deposit to get my bonus money, so don't ask me to show my money on the internet, but I did get a bonus check of $539. That's not bad for being in for two months. The best thing about it is that I have not spent nothing on the items last month, which is when I got the bonus.

What a lot

of you do not understand is that this is a 2.0 age. We use computers to make sales and thus, eliminate the need to purchase large inventories of products. In my two months of making over 300PV I've only spent about $108. That was just for the Ribbon Gift cards buy five for the price of four because the holidays are coming and I want my customers to have cards right away rather than ordering them online. Again, it was optional. I didn't have to do it, but I wanted to.

If you are complaining because someone told you that it cost $200 to become a Amway IBO, you should have looked at the Amway website. It clearly says that you can own a business for as little as $64. As a matter of fact, if you had gone through the registration process, you would have to decide whether you want to pay $64 for the business registration alone, or if you would want to add an extra $83. The extra $83 is only for the welcome kit. That gives you products that you can sample but with the business registration, they would be $164. If you were sponsored by a LTD member like me, you would only pay $25 for registration and again it's optional, which means, in reality, if I sponsored you or anyone else sponsored you, you have the choice to only pay $64. I sponsored someone who I told to only pay $64 because they could not afford $200 but they honestly wanted to be a IBO. Heck, I split the payment so that he could pay $30. That's how I run business for dedicated IBOs; I help them become one!

The only thing is that I did not get any PV or money for it. So that proves that you don't earn money by sponsoring alone. You and those you sponsor have to sell products because that's what retailing is! If he had brought the Welcome Kit, it would count as a customer sale and I would have gotten 50PV only because it counted as a sale. If any other IBO have lied to you, I'm sorry, but I only will tell the truth about the business plan. Money can motivate dishonesty but money was not my reason for becoming an Amway IBO.

But back to the bonuses. Now, PV is only bonus pay! We can't forget that you get retail profit for every product you sell. So actually I made more money than I posted. It gets better, though. The Fast Track incentive program gave me extra cash for sponsoring three IBOs, making 50PV in customer sales and helping my downlines make 125PV (they made a little more though). So they have to make sales and I have to make sales in order to get the bonus. I don't know, maybe this was a good month for me, but next month will be better because of Christmas and the Ribbon Gift Cards. I even have my own website created even for promotion. Again, I spent less than I got paid.

So, in conclusion, Amway is for those with an entrepreneur spirit. I personally view sponsoring people as an interview. I ask probing questions before sponsoring so I can see where your mind is. If you are not ready to grow with Amway, I won't sponsor you. It's that simple. A lot of you have been sponsored and not filtered. I like to filter people who I don't think will be serious about their business. The reason? Because then I will have to deal with people like some of you, calling Amway a scam. But I can say, honestly, it's not even close to a scam. But then again, people have accused many legit businesses of being scams. So I'm not surprised.

I am all about the truth. If you want to know more, you can ask me, or simply call Amway and ask them yourself. I know they will give you the right answers, like I would. I won't expose how much money I make, or show you a bank statement because well, that's stupid. I don't expose that to total strangers. Just know that I am financially stable. Besides, you cannot show Amway bonus checks past $200 publicly, or on the internet, without approval of Amway corporate. This is just a measure that Amway is taking to fight off those who promise that you'll get rich quick.

Also, I don't like the way the author of this blog have worded things. The higher your pin, the more IBOs you have? We have a Q12 who only has three legs in his line of sponsorship. You earn pin levels based on your PV and that's by selling products. You can reach it alone, it would be very difficult, but you have that option. In one month, a IBO can make more than the one who sponsored him. Also, you are not only paid via PV, you are paid immediate retail profit. Money you get for every product sold. PV is only for bonus pay.

I think it's hilarious that there are 50-plus comments from one single person defending Amway. One person. That shows how much real credibility there is here. Don't buy into the pushy commission based pyramid crap and keep sending in your applications to real employers where you can get a consistent source of income.

When the one guy here defending the company is making comments like calling people "pathetic" you know you have a real winner of a company here. Avoid it at all costs, everyone. This is not the miracle job it's being made out to be. If it were this easy, everyone would be doing it.

anon294743Post 99

Which company in their right mind would would give you a warranty on goods like household essentials? Seriously, I understand what Amway is trying to do and that's creating a stress free way to make income.

If it is a pyramid like most of you are saying, it won't collapse since a pyramid is always subject to collapse. Think about it: a futuristic way to make income. You don't complain about things that you think you know.

Some of you being negative have degrees showing that you are educated. Use that education, sit down and think. By the way, Robert Kiyosaki would not support this type of business if it was a scam.

anon286849Post 98

I'm not interested in whether Amway is a pyramid or not. But here's the thing: People who are involved in Amway and try to get you involved never give you much information until you agree to meet with them where "all your questions can be answered". Usually, they will approach you in a way whereby they claim to "as a friend" just *share* their success with you because they feel that if they are succeeding at something, they would, out of the goodness of their heart, share their success with you.

Frankly, that's a load of crap because they benefit from you joining (hence the pyramid structure). So ultimately they lie to you and do not give you much information at first.

Seriously, what do you guys have to hide to employ such misleading tactics? Just be honest and tell everyone you need them to join because it will benefit you, don't lie to your friends. It's pathetic.

anon284769Post 97

If you have a job, you are in a pyramid scheme. If you work for the government, you are in a pyramid scheme. You will never make more than your boss or the owner of the company no matter how hard you work, but millions of us do it everyday and its deemed legal. Better yet, we don't complain. If Amway or any other MLM is "illegal" then why doesn't the government shut them down?

anon283574Post 96

Actually, I am able to purchase Amway products at the distributor cost and I am not a member of Amway. Meaning, I did not have to pay a dime to join, nor attend any meetings or am pushed to sell any of the products.

How? Amway allows their distributors to sell at cost to customers, without having the requirement of the customer to join Amway as a consultant. My sponsor gets credit for my sales, but I get the product at cost. I even get free shipping on my purchases too! Amway manufactures some wonderful products and this is how I purchase them!

krzychokriPost 93

I just joined and I love it. The excitement people have at the meetings and the potential growth are just great. It is an honest company, it doesn't hide or lie about anything. I approach people with an honest approach and answer all questions with dignity and integrity. I have friends in it and they are doing very well! If you are looking for work and want to make money, it definitely is a great opportunity to try out. You are not forced, obligated or conned into anything you don't want to do! It's clean (they don't even drink at events!) and pretty clear on their rules and regulations.

anon277778Post 90

Wow. I am not even affiliated with Amway. I stumbled across this by accident, but I have to say for a company that has been around for 50 years or more, it already has my trust. It is the individual who gives a business like this a bad name, not the model behind it.

The people who have bad things to say about companies of this nature were the people who thought it was a get rich quick scheme. Nothing out there is get rich quick. It seems that it is a real opportunity and you have to do real work to make a living from this. I am actually affiliated with the competitor for Amway, but it takes good

people in this business to revive the legitimacy in it.

Pyramid schemes typically have one product, if they have a product at all, and are usually only around for about three or so years. Think of it this way: your local store, any store you want is a pyramid. The general manager of any type of store gets paid a bonus of some sort if his manager and then the employees reach certain sales levels, the only difference is it is not made so public.

So for the people who have nothing else to do than to hate on people who are trying to do something with their lives and live the American or Canadian dream, look in the mirror and tell us really how great your life is and how much of a leader you are. Good luck everyone in your Amway journey.

I myself have recently joined Amway and I’m excited because the environment you are in is so positive! Not one person in the room was sad. They were empowered and actually started to believe in themselves, that they could have the life they always wanted. What's so wrong about empowering people and making them feel like they are worth something in society these days?

I agree that it’s not for everyone and not everyone is going to “make it big,” but it's all about the effort you want to put in. Like anything else, if you put no effort in, you get nothing out of it! They don’t force you to do anything. You don’t have to go to

meetings and weekends or buy the education material. They advise you and make recommendations to you, but whether you go or not is completely your choice!

This crap about it being a pyramid is a load of crap. If you went to school and paid attention on your shapes you would know what a pyramid/triangle is. A pyramid has a point at the top of it so it can’t go any further – it just stops. So a pyramid is pretty much any normal job. You have your boss, then managers, then general employees. Some companies obviously have more levels than others, but the main point is that they all have a boss/CEO at the top. The only way you move up at work or in a large corporate company is if A. Someone dies. B. Someone gets fired or C. Someone is pregnant. That’s the only way really you move up in the company and there’s no way you will ever earn more than your boss/CEO, correct?

Well, in Amway, no one has yet to achieve the highest level in the company, but you know what? Once they get there, as many people who can make it to that point can have that position! There is no top or pyramid here. There can be as many people on one level as you like!

If you have a friend who wants to join and they do really well at it and maybe focus more than you do on it, they have the opportunity to earn more than you! Everyone has the opportunity to earn more than his or her up lines. It's one big, equal playing field!

So no, Amway is not a pyramid scheme and pyramid scams are illegal, anyway. They have been through their fair share of court cases in the early days. Don’t get me wrong. I read plenty of forums about “Scamway” and all the other crap, but you know what? I decided to go and see for myself and I’m glad I did because I can’t wait to give it a go and really make something out of it! Each to their own, but "try and fail, but never fail to try."

Amway isn't too good to be true. It's simple and easy; people are complicated. We simply love the products and are happy with making money by using amway products and recommending them to others. The extra income is welcome.

IBOtruthPost 87

What none of you seem to be addressing are the facts, not the misstatements by the Geek.

First, Amway has a stellar record in Canada of being above board and manufactures all its health supplements line to Canadian standards that are much rougher than American standards. The products must be made to pharmaceutical standards to be sold in Canada.

Second, the money from books and tapes has to do with individual IBO businesses. Amway makes no money off those particular sales for educational materials. And what school of business doesn't charge for books, speakers, teachers, CDs, clothing with their logo, etc.?

Third, a pyramid scheme has a particular developmental chain. No one below someone else can ever exceed the upper

level income. In the Amway business, anybody can pass their sponsoring upline at any time. It takes works work. It takes time and it is not a get rich quick scheme. In fact, the US federal government uses the Amway plan to compare other businesses to because it is the best plan around that has maintained a structure that has been defensible for the last 55 years.

Fourth, the products are great. Five NFL teams use them along with three NHL teams, and the the beauty line "Artistry" is the sponsor of The Miss America Pageant, and the exclusive make-up provider as well. It is the number one online sales make-up line, and over 100 other brand name stores have partnered with them because of their integrity. These include: Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shops, ProFlowers and TGW (the Golf Warehouse), to name a few.

So, check your facts. Amway has continued to be profitable in a bad economy, and for the last few years has averaged a 17 percent increase in revenue per year.

Wow, wow, wow. I hear both sides but still feel they are knocking Amway unfairly. Why don't those so negative about Amway just move on and show they can do better than those distributors? Want to talk the talk? Then walk the walk.

Comfort zone is is key to all this and "noise," whether negative or positive. Who among those have a dream and really want to aspire and realize their dreams or want to continue whining?

I try to be a realist and pragmatist. If the system is not illegal and you can't prove it as a scam or non workable, then what's the problem? Hey, if it works and makes me money and more than a traditional job

, I sure will be with Amway. Currently, I get the same ear clobbing by those who will never make it and the like. Do none of them have dreams?

In every walk of life there are bad elements, even in your own community. Amway, for Pete's sake, would not still be around after 50 years for crying out loud. Who of you have worked for a company and is the company still around or merged or gone bust? Staying power is the proof in the pudding.

I know how you troubled people feel about Amway. I felt the same way - unsure and of the mindset it's to good to be true then it's to good to be true.

But let me tell you what I found: Amway is a wonderful company with great powerful values. Amway stands for strong moral character. The problem is troubled people can't believe in themselves so they can't believe in anything else. Well get over it. Didn't your Mother ever tell you if you can't say something nice, no one wants to hear what you have to say?

alarik37Post 84

So how do I do this Amway thing? Sounds good to me. I'm a disabled vet looking for a way to make a legitimate income from home.

anon264601Post 83

If Amway is a pyramid/scam, then so is Red Bull, Oxyclean, Colgate-Palmolive, Proctor and Gamble, General Mills, Maybelline... the list goes on. The concentrated laundry detergent you use was Amway's idea. They started it (called SA8) and everyone else copied it and then called Amway a scam. Amway was the first to invent organic cleaner. In fact, it was their first product (called LOC, for liquid organic cleaner). Anyone who says Amway doesn't work is right. It doesn't work; it tracks. It's really just a tracking system, and if you get in but don't do anything, you get nothing back. Some people get in but then fail and give up, but that does not mean Amway is not legit.

Not

everyone who signs up for Navy SEAL training makes it through, but that does not mean SEAL training does not work. Not everyone who goes to college graduates. The only bad thing about Amway is its stupid name, but that is all.

If you really think it's a pyramid, then find an IBO and buy at least one can of XS energy drink, (I suggest cranberry-grape) and drink it.

Nothing to do here. The deniers are brainwashed by American society to think MLMs are evil, and Amway global is the scum of the earth.

Fact one: If you aren't on the right team under the right leadership, you aren't going to get anywhere. It's like following a vegetable; it's not going to get you anywhere. When you follow visionaries who are hardcore to the fiber about bringing change, like Toby Ayers or Larry Winters (look them up) who came from nothing and ended up with everything, and be a protege instead of a prodigal. Then you will copy and duplicate. These people are teaching wonderful, true things stories of overcoming adversity and poverty.

Try looking up Santiago Flores, another

visionary on my team. He used to work at Disney World, but now he's been retired for a year. He's 22 years old, and I've gone as far as playing basketball with the guy at a function and sitting down and laughing with him.

There is nothing evil about Amway global/ Quixtar. It all depends on what you like to believe and what you believe in. The products aren't overpriced, either. They are sold in bulk bundle, and you might think that an XS energy drink 12-pack for 25.00 is expensive, but realize this: it's a healthy energy drink, and a can of Red Bull is about 2.25 a can. One can of XS is 2.08 with the 25.00 price tag. If you don't like it contact your Ibo and he can lower it for you by a few bucks. It's not the price tag that you look at. It's the per use that you keep your eye on.

Get your facts right before you bash a prestigious company like Amway or you'll be stuck looking like a fool. And yeah, I won't be active until next month because of personal reasons, but I already know what I'm capable of.

Yes, if you are at the top of the chain, at the top or at higher levels of the pyramid, you will be making nice money. But what happens with people at the bottom of the chain? It is easy to see and very easy to mathematically prove that the last "link" in the chain is bound to lose.

anon256892Post 79

There's plenty of negative about Amway but it really should be directed at the real culprits: motivational support groups. Amway itself does tons of great deeds around the world like their "One by One" program where they spend millions to feed and build homes for homeless children around the world.

granitemanPost 77

It's true that Amway has a negative image and this was caused by the motivational support groups, not the Amway company or its products. My wife and I have been in this business for over 35 years and have 200 personal customers or more, not to mention a nice group of business partners.

We promote the value and performance of the products. If one takes the time to figure out the cost per use, we often beat the discount stores in price and our product performance is legendary. Many times they are rated no. 1 in Consumer Reports magazine, but keep in mind the cost per use when figuring price.

We don't promote buying CD's or getting involved with the

so-called support groups and organizations. Amway has all the support we need for "free." The diamonds of these motivational groups do, in fact, make much of their income from the tools and meetings they promote.

Not everyone in Amway is a bad or dishonest person! In 2012 Amway did $10.9 Billion on sales world wide (80 countries). This says lots of customers agree that the products are in fact a great value!

Amway is a 10+ billion dollar a year global company and growing by the year. The bad opinions statistically mean nothing.

anon241949Post 74

Amway is a legal entity; that's not even arguable. This is evidenced by the fact that they been around since 1959. Avon and Mary Kay all work the same way. Are there rogue individuals who join? Yes. They give it the bad name. If you are a dishonest person, then Amway or any other business like it will not work for you. You might want ask yourself the next time someone degrades Amway, "Are they an honest individual?"

The problem I see with it is that it makes sense and sounds to good to be true. That's the problem I had when I tried it. I don't get "excited" about anything. It has to make sense and be legal and Amway does exactly that, as do Avon and Mary Kay. I'm not currently involved in any of them. I wish I could make it work for me but I guess it's just not meant to be.

anon239388Post 73

It is strange to read many of these posts about Amway, especially when I'm an immigrant from a poor country and not as educated as most people here.

But even I can see something is missing when I hear negativity.

For example, someone said he could buy a similar product from a shop that lasts the same length of time, and cheaper.

I'm am an uneducated person and even I know, that if you went to buy from these shops, would they at least help you open a shop to do the same? No.

Will they at least give you a couple of pounds off or give your some dollars for buying the product from them? No. Will they at

least pay you for referring someone to their shop? No.

2. It's a pyramid.

I come from a third world country and I see what is a pyramid: the government. The corporations in our country, where we worked for nothing much while the CEOs were making billions. It was slave labor.

But in Amway you can make more money than the person who invited you. You can make more but always, in life, there will always be someone making more than you. Always. Does that mean it's a scam?

I swear, I wish I Amway was in our country; we'll kill it. We'll make it happen because for us, in our country, there is only: you work, make money or die starving.

What about you have to invite people to do the same and you make money off others. Really? I worked in a job, and my boss at that time made money from my efforts. Is that a scam, too?

Scam pyramids are where there is no product. It's just you recruiting people for money but there is no product, no service whatsoever.

It is crazy all the people on this blog are slagging Amway. Amway has nothing to do with the sales training; it is all done by outside entities. Amway as a company is doing nothing wrong and has great products, but the motivational side is run by the big pins.

I did OK out of Amway but got sick of listening to the same rags to riches stories on cd every month. Please give me more credit. If I don't do three cds a day I will not prosper.

If you need others to motivate you you will never succeed, for motivation lives in all of us. Please never give up on self development or helping others but please do

not let your upline tell you Amway is the only way. Be aware. You can make it anywhere if you choose. Life is there for those who want it.

Have a listen to maybe Jim Rohn. It is your philosophy that may need to change. Take care. Life is too precious to waste.

I've been involved with Amway on and off but right now I am at a point in life where I have decided to be fully involved. When I worked Amway, I was making money and when I didn't, I wasn't. So, it's all up to me.

I don't get it where some people get this funny idea that Amway is promising riches from day one or that the leaders preach that at open meetings. I have never heard such claims. All I've heard is that it's a business and has to be treated as such if you want to be successful.

Can you be successful? Yes, absolutely, but that depends on you, on your choice and commitment to that choice

. If you want peace of mind, contact the Better Business Bureau or the Direct Selling Association in the USA and find out if Amway is legal or not, and credible or not for the past 50 years of operation!

Also, I never felt pressured or mind controlled by the leaders in Amway. I understood that it's my responsibility to put the info they give me to good use. I understand that my results and consequences are my personal responsibility.

In all the negative internet critic stories I came across, nine out of ten of them deny personal responsibility and blame Amway or the leaders or both for their failure. A few times did I come across someone who said that Amway didn't work for them but those people had the guts to say that 'I simply had no guts to build it'. The rest, third person blame exclusively!

So guys, it's all up to you! Your choices and how you commit to them will spell out the end result; you make it in Amway or you don't!

Well, if you want to go after money and work hard on that (I mean really really hard, like attach your soul to Amway and keep doing only Amway) then maybe in the next 15 to 20 years (or more) you will have income, but still it's not stable, because it depends on how much harder you work and how much harder your down line works.

But I rather enjoy myself. I relax, sleep, eat what I want, go where I want to go with what I have and what I earn without Amway.

I don't care whether it is a pyramid scheme or not. I simply don't like it.

anon231904Post 68

The dogs bark but the caravan moves on. Your preconceived ideas lead you astray. Amway which means The American Way, has never been and never will be a scam. The leaders of the corporation have to much integrity and are to honest to be scammers, liars or cheats. They have been investigated a thousand times by people who believed they were to good to be true. No dirt has ever been found. And they are in Canada.

mnkPost 67

Dell, Best buy, sears, office depot and other 62 companies working with Amway. Why do you think these companies join without checking and investigating about the market value of Amway? They let their name used by Amway as partner store? Nothing's wrong with Amway; it’s all about you and me. We don’t have the willpower to make money so don’t blame Amway.

anon217371Post 65

The biggest problem with Amway is: Over-priced products 10 times higher than local store prices. Now, where do you think all that extra money will go to?

anon214173Post 64

Amway makes a lot of sense. I am 20, and I can't find a job. Amway allows me to put my life in my own hands and take control. Where else can you do that at 20?

anon212824Post 63

Never take advice from a broke person. If you have anything better and are financially free, then please give us some insight. If you don't, continue working your job like you have been doing. It doesn't matter whether it's Amway or ACN or Avon or any other direct selling company.

They all work and they're working for others, but you decide if you want it to work for you. Stop wasting time trying to defend billion dollar corporations and let the broke people keep barking and staying broke. Cheers.

anon212587Post 62

Amway is a scam. Even though Amway is legal, the scam part is perpetuated by Amway IBOs. They scam people into buying dreams. They get people to dream and then tell them they can only achieve the dream by attending seminars and listening to CDs and other materials. The truth is that less than one percent of IBOs even make a net profit equal to minimum wage with part time hours.

anon204054Post 61

Hey to those of you out there who say Amway is nothing but a "pyramid scam," how about you look at the job you work at? I guarantee you're not making as much money as the owner, as the managers, or the assistant managers. Look at that and tell me you're not already in a pyramid. You're never going to make as much money as the guy on the top unless all your co-workers quit.

anon187961Post 60

I was in Amway for about a year. I bought the first 400 dollar package. I then tried out the soap. 2.65 at the time. they said take an empty squirt bottle and put 10 percent soap in it and then fill the other 90 percent with water. So i did. I used the whole amount of Amway soap. Then I did the unthinkable. As a rocket scientist, I tested their way against a control. I went out and bought a 79 cent bottle of Dawn soap. and did the same thing. Lasted just as long with the same squirt bottle and same 90 percent water.

So I brought this up in a meeting that I could buy the same

socks, shoes and clothes from Wal-Mart for less money. I said the products have to be better for less if you expect to get people to buy them. The Ruby in my upline said don't think about it, just buy the products. I said that is stupid and evil. None of these friendly people ever talked to me again.

I deal with the truth. Amway is a lie. It is a scam. less product for more money. They are not a pyramid scheme, the court says no. But they are scamming you and they are not Christians and they are not honest. Not just a few, but all of them. You can buy the inspirational items on Amazon. The richest man in Babylon is a good one. As the Holy Scriptures say, test all things. For you pagans trust, but verify.

Absolutely amazing. Every complaint, issue, or negative comment has yet to be followed up with even one single fact supporting said argument.

The math works, period. I am making money, don't alienate friends or family, and have created a great group of friends/business partners. What else should I expect? How you run your part of the business is entirely on you. All success and or failure is on you. Accept this and quit making excuses for your own failures in life and you will succeed.

I know very well of some 'Amroids' who would, could, and do give everything they're involved in a bad reputation.

anon183691Post 58

More then 99 percent of people who join Amway lose money. Sure, what a great deal. Those who do make money are scamming the 99 percent.

anon167473Post 56

I tried to join Amway, and they insisted I be set up by an IBO. I recommend myself, so ergo why should I have some stranger earning money off me. It is a pyramid scheme, and is the biggest, longest running scam I know of.

Why do I need some stranger to set me up, I'm not stupid, and follow online instructions very well actually. Why don't they just go selling direct online and be done with all the trickery and scheming. So sad really.

anon163839Post 55

The polarised opinions of the public demonstrate one thing about Amway at least, that it has a great potential for changing life, whether that is success or miserable failure.

To those who say that IBO's are salespeople, that's an interesting point, but because legally, at least they are considered their own business entity. A more accurate assessment would be a Joint Venture. Saying this also represents the attitudes of both parties more accurately as well. IT's don't work for Amway directly, and in fact, some actually despise how the company tries and controls the IBO, as that runs contrary to the freedom spoken about. Thus, the idea that one is an employed by another due to money received is quite

an odd assumption if you apply it to market principles. Are producers employed by consumers? This merely takes the concept of economic incentives and applies that to a marketing strategy, which then attempts to leverage social networks. I mean, just now with the internet, are common people realizing the impact of social networks, and how that can leverage buyer bargaining power?

On the issue of the pyramid scheme, it's an abused phrase. Whether the thing is or is not a 'pyramid scheme' I say is irrelevant. Legally, it has not been found guilty of being a pyramid scheme, so legally there is no debate. However, conceptually the basic idea of using one's social connections to profit is thought of as undesirable. Additionally, if such profiting in turn leads to the disadvantage of the person being involved, then that is truly at the heart of what a pyramid scheme is.

Now on that reasonable basis, does the business plan fit? It does take advantage of social connections to profit, yes. So the arguable part is whether or not it is a disadvantage to the social connections, now on a purely economic level, simply the opportunity to buy goods of a different brand/quality/price is being offered to friends and family, knowing that in buying that it will benefit the IBO.

On the other hand, then they could tell others about the opportunity/scam/scheme, and in doing so will also have the potential to profit. Thus, for it to be a pyramid scheme it would, in the end, have to disadvantage the other person for the IBOs gain.

To me, I cannot see how offering an equal choice to duplicate is disadvantaging anyone, for it is a choice which can be taken up on or ignored, and even then, it requires no disadvantage to the person, considering that both now have a vested interest in having one another succeed. On that face of that though, it would be unethical to force anyone to pursue something that financially would harm them, but in the pure and simple marketing plan, this is not the case.

This brings me to the final point about the motivational side, inclusive of the income exaggeration. The main issue which I will address are the claims on the ethical nature of proclaiming over-embellished numbers and an emphasis on the 'support' side of the equation.

First of all, over-embellished numbers are in themselves possible per se, but being marketed as being easily achievable is, in fact, wrong. There is no discussion on that point. Thus, any IBO doing so is unethical, but does not reflect the entire culture, or at least not a part of it.

Second comes with the motivational materials, and the entire industry itself is quite a con. However, in taking that with a grain of salt, one must realize that there are some good materials out there which can be found when on the 'system', not to be specific because I cannot, but 'How to Win Friends and Influence People', and 'Think and Grow Rich' are both books that are motivational which cannot be written for solely financial gains of the authors. The meetings themselves are reinforcing the overall point of engaging in the joint venture.

Considering the length of this, I'll keep it brief. Any IBO profiting too greatly from motivational materials (meaning overcharging for the actual value provided) is unethical and should be shunned. However that is not all people, because of the nature of the business makes it diverse.

This simplistic analysis is provided in the context of a degree in Complex Systems with readings in Business Ethics, including deontological and utilitarian principles. This is my perspective, being as objective as I can be. Additionally, both my parents have been Diamonds in this business for a period of time, so I am familiar with the inner workings. It's not all fancy and glamorous, but it works, because it could provide for a family of four a comfortable lifestyle, as well as a positive 'you can do it' environment at home, fostering achievement among my siblings. Personally, at least in terms of thought process, the business offers a lot.

If you are willing to do only what's easy, life will be hard. If you are willing to do what's hard, life will be easy!

This is the problem with 80 percent of our population today. Think about it!

andyespringPost 53

Nice site I find here. So funny reading all the comments. I walked away from a very successful construction business, and also my up line have done the same.

This business is so simple and easy to do, if you stick with the most simple basics. Honestly, it's rhythm and fallow up. Nothing else is needed.

People who are financially broke, speak to your up line, and tell them everything that's wrong in your life and what you would like to change. This is what I did and I can say it works.

To those who are saying that this business does not work, I can tell you without knowing you, that nothing is working for you. Many companies are

copying this business module and still can't get results, because this business is filled with soul, that you can't copy or buy-- you have to feel.

People who say this is a pyramid scheme don't have a clue about the definition of a pyramid. Something else that shows how "educated" You are. A pyramid scheme is not legal and pyramid schemes do not have a real product -- just some clouds up in the air, like governments or stock shares.

Amway has the highest company rating, over $8 billion in sales in 2009, privately owned company, no shares and 450 products. Go back to the drawing board, "negatives," and come back only if you have 100 percent proof this is a pyramid. If you are able prove it.

Amway is a fantastic business opportunity. Robert Kiosaki, the world's most read financial author agrees. So who are you going to believe? Robert Kiosaki, the world's most read financial multi millionaire author, or your uneducated, ill-informed, geeky cousin who has no job, no money and spends far too much time look at internet porn? The choice is yours. Do your own research!

anon150041Post 51

With no exceptions, every person I've known who has tried to make it with Amway, or any of it's various reincarnates, has failed miserably - not just with the business, but with their relationships with family and friends (warm prospects, yeah, right).

anon144025Post 47

This is so funny to read. I bet half these people didn't follow the steps to be successful in Amway. Guys don't listen to these losers who badmouth Amway. They're just mad their lives are pathetic.

anon136886Post 46

Wow it's amazing how many comments positive and negative are left on here with regards to Amway. What I love about Amway is the positive people it has drawn into my life. Those who fail in this business are the ones who: 1. Don't attend the business previews as part of a team. 2. Don't follow through with the steps required to move forward. 3. Don't attend the business development seminars. 4. Don't take advantage of the wealth of knowledge and training that is available at a touch of a button, phone call or e-mail away. The list goes on! I am encouraged by people who care and want me to be successful. These are people who don't even

know me on a personal level.

I have only been with Amway for one week. Low start up costs, low over heads, motivation, support and financial education what more could you ask for. I'm giving it a go and following the steps why? Yes part of me is septic but I'd rather be giving this a go instead of running Amway down without having experienced being an IBO. My opinion is if you haven't tried it you don't know what you are talking about! --Ren GC Aus

i have family members who have been recently sucked in to this scam and asked me to join a "business opportunity" but wouldn't say what, and after and hour a half they finally said Amway. this is nothing more than a legal pyramid scheme and will only make the head honchos rich.

i can't believe they can't see it for what it is. I'd sooner throw the money up in the air than ever join this company.

i just hope they eventually realize it before wasting to much of their time. you're better off selling avon. --ann96

anon129885Post 44

Wow! So much misinformation from the people here.

Amway does not require you to buy or do anything. If you do not buy, then you do not get rebates. Simple as that. If you are really smart, how could you not understand that simple fact.

Of course, the more you buy the bigger the rebates and the bonuses. Just like what any airline gives you if you are a frequent flyer. But the genius in this business model is that you do not even have to buy everything yourself! Whatever your downlines spend would virtually become your spending as well and thus your rebates increase without you spending more. How could you ever lose here? It's a win-win. Win

for you, win for Amway.

But people quit. And if you ask them how many people they were able to help and they can't even answer that simple question. Don't expect returns when you can't even help yourself. There is no such thing as free beer anymore. Do you part and the money will come in.

I may fail in this business but that would ultimately be my own fault. The scary thing is that if I can't make this work, how much more if I tried a traditional business?! Think people. Think!

The PV isn't what determines someones commission. its the difference between wholesale and retail. that's how shops make their money too. OK., as for the CD's, books, etc., how many people have gone and bought motivational books and CD's to change your thinking from negative to positive? After reading those books and listening to the CD's, did you make any money? No. but you felt better because you got motivated to do something with your life, right?

Amway doesn't sell the books, CD's, etc. Even the seminars are run by the individual teams or groups in different states. tell me how many of you have bought Undercoverwear or tupperware or nutrimetics? they are all direct sales companies whose consultants sponsor

new consultants and their groups get bigger. are they all pyramid scammers?

Its about re-directing your spending. why give your money to the big supermarkets and get nothing in return? And the reason why some choose not to say anything is because of the bad rap Amway has gotten over the years and because people's perspective of Amway is of the 70's, that it's door-to-door selling. it's come a long way since then. it's buying the product for yourselves and giving others the same option. and if you get a bonus, well that's a good deal. Kohl's, Woolies and I don't give you that.

Amway supporters like to point out the $8B+ revenue/year as proof of the company's success. But according to info published by the company itself, the average sales person makes $78/month gross. Often, expenses run over $125/month.

So you do the math. Yes, they clear $8B revenue, but spread that over millions of sales people, and you're not even making enough per month to survive on.

anon127314Post 41

I'm surprised that so many Amway employees (?) consider themselves business owners. In reality, when you work for Amway, you are a sales person. You don't own your own business. You don't own Amway. You are selling products for Amway (who benefit from the profits more than their sales people), and receive a commission for your work.

You're no more your own bosses than a sales person at a car dealership. It's the same basic principle: the more you sell, the more you make.

If you think you'll be able to sign up with them and make money like crazy, think about this: many Amway sales people are selling the same products. How many different websites selling the same thing does the market need? Not as many as are out there selling Amway products.

The bottom line is a few may be able to make money off of this, but due to its design, most are set for failure.

anon127110Post 40

I really don't care how many people try to talk this "business model" up. It should be called Scamway. Enough said.

anon123180Post 39

There is enough material out there that the ones "making it" in Amway are the ones selling the tools, i.e., getaways, retreats, seminars, tapes, books, you get the point. It's a fact. Those who just sell the goods are the ones who will not profit.

Prove me wrong. Link someone from Amway who has made it because they just sold the products. In fact, just link up any one Amway success story. We'd all love to read it and stop the second guessing. If Amway were that great, why hide it in the first place?

I was approached the other day in a book store by an older woman pretending to run a very successful relationship business. I was foolish

and gave her my number because I felt sorry for her. Turns out, with a little investigating, I found out she sells Amway.

Why hide Amway at all? I mean if it's that great and legit, why does there always have to be smoke and mirrors attached to anyone whom they approach? Why not scream from a mountaintop that you sell Amway?

I have been in Amway for the last four months. I have been regularly buying CDs and business support materials. I've been writing down all my expenses from day one (including my cost of fuel from Point A to Point B) and in the last four months I've made $1700 in profit.

There are ways to do things and I wouldn't deny the fact there might be people making money out of CDs and business seminars etc. but I don't give a damm as far as I am making money. These tools are helping me and one day when I become successful I will be making my own CD and selling and making money (but that's not what I am concentrating on right now).

This is a business, so treat it like a business

(which requires investment, etc.) and I have personally met people who are earning six-figure incomes (and they are not even part of my line of sponsorship).

anon116479Post 37

One person says he has never met one person who has made a living out of Amway.

Funny, but I have never met one person has made a living out of McDonalds. Never met any of the Kroc family! Therefore, does McDonald's work? does the Kroc foundation make any money at all?

Er, yes around about $45,000,000 per month, a bit more than the fool who "has not met one person in Amway."

I hate to add, but I know plenty!

anon116477Post 36

Gee, I am studying to be a doctor. It will cost me around $100,000 in university fees, books, cds, got to go to lectures. They keep telling me I will get my money back, but I do not look at facts, like some of the people on here.

To those who did nothing, got nothing, wake up to yourselves. You were the failure, not Amway or the hundreds of thousands who share in billions of dollars of profit-share.

Amway, whether people like it or not has been around for 50 years (unusual, eh?), turns over billions and is a debt free global corporation.

anon110461Post 35

Every marketing concept has it's own pros and cons. I have been in Amway for many years now and have not made much headway.

I have done a lot of research, rummaged through a vast pile of articles from the net and looked at Amway from a critical standpoint. What I have realized is that had I spent all this time and energy trying to build this business, I would have perhaps been much better off financially.

Amway is a great opportunity for those who work the business the way it ought to be worked. Remember, nothing in life comes for free. If you have a business opportunity that gives you a reasonably predictable opportunity to leap frog into success

from mediocrity, then one has to pay the price for reaching that goal. And the price to be paid for a successful Amway business is hard work, persistence and consistency. So you negatives out there, keep on writing more junk about Amway. I'll keep trying my business.

I love amway and I've only been plugging in for three months. Guys get with it or get lost. The winners are winning regardless of your loser talk. Success is stepping out of your comfort zone and taking risks, not being regular and doing what everyone else does.

We do not have a lot of people who want to win so we have a site where people badmouth winners because they didn't do it or maybe didn't try hard enough when they were in. Love your job and stop hating on amway.

anon101195Post 32

Like most things in life, there are pros and cons to everything. Negative people towards the amway idea only emphasize negative things and visa versa for positive.

Ive been in Amway for about a year and a half now and I've only just reached the second pin (6 percent). Now is this Amway's fault or my fault? The answer is obvious. Mine! Amway is just a business system. I could do what most people would do im my situation: quit and jump onto the internet rant and rave how it's crap and doesn't work. It works, i just haven't worked it.

Negativity: Yes some people run their Amway business the wrong way (pressure friends and family into joining, etc.) but

how is that Amway's fault? Amway boots people out of the business for doing stuff like that! If you see it, ring Amway and they will investigate them. Like i said before, Amway is just a business. The negativity comes from people running their business the wrong way.

It's also funny how some people see the idea but can't make up their minds. So what do they do? They jump online and let the world make up their mind. Try this out: Open an internet page and search Mother Teresa. I can guarantee there will be sites dedicated to put the word out that she is a -- well, you know where I'm going.

I don't want to convince anyone that it's a good idea. Frankly, i couldn't give a crap what you think of the idea. I just want to have my say.

One more thing: In a pyramid scheme, the guy up top makes all the money and it's impossible for me/you/anyone to make more money than someone X amount of positions up the 'pyramid'.

Can someone 1/2/5/8 legs deeper than me can make a lot more than me? Yes. Pyramid scheme concept out the window.

Can you make more money than your boss or someone 1/2/5/8 positions up from you? And I'll be captain obvious for a second. If Amway was a pyramid scheme it wouldn't be running -- period. Let alone be the number one corporate affiliate online in the world.

After more than 30 years in Australia, Amway's cleaning products is something like 1 or 2 percent of the market. The marketing strategy is there is a sucker born every minute.

anon100195Post 30

My cousin and his wife just joined Away in South Africa. They are now trying to convince my husband and I but we are not convinced at all. It just sounds a bit dodgy to me, to be honest.

I've done research on Amway and I'm sorry to say, but it is a pyramid, direct selling scheme. There is no guarantee that you will make money from this as opposed to a 9-5 job. We just bought a house and there is no bloody way that I would engage in such a risk taking business. Nevertheless, good luck and all the best to all IBO's.

anon97046Post 29

Many of us fail to achieve success because we don't know how to implement it in our life. Everyone wants to be a successful person in their life but in order to achieve success we need to invest our lime and effort in the right program at the right time and with a right vision.

I am an Amway distributor from India. Other than the business strategies, what inspired me was the motivation and the encouragement that I get attending the business seminars and other forums related to Amway.

I have been working in Amway since an year now and I have never felt that I have invested my time in a wrong way. I would say, "If there is

a company in the world which can provide you financial freedom and success as well as laurels together then Amway is the only company that can provide you all this."

Don't waste your time thinking of what has happened in your life because the time that has gone will never return back. So make use of every minute that you get and be successful. All the best.. Ajesh J.

I had an Amway rep try to sell me on it. He drew it all out for me and how it worked. I know you Amway fanboys like to represent like it's not a pyramid scheme, yet for some the picture I was shown when it was explained to me looked an awful lot like a pyramid.

I have a real job where they pay me to start working from day one. None of that "pay us money and for a kit and eventually you will make money" crap. I'm sure some people make money that way. I'm equally sure many many more don't.

One more point. My friend who tried to recruit me eventually quit, having made no money. But I'm sure it was because he didn't try hard enough.

anon90996Post 27

In the amway business there is no transparency you recruit people by misleading them. even the recruiting IBOs fake that this business has nothing to do with amway and if you ask them a question they will in turn ask you a question and never give you a legitimate answer.

now the current method these thugs have adopted is sending a mass SMS to friends saying that one of my friends is running a successful internet business and would you like to join as he is doing very will and is expanding his business.

anon90994Post 26

The amway business is all about fake it till you make it.

anon86624Post 25

wow. So some won't. So what? Somewhere, six will.

You can't argue with the facts: $5 billion in 2005 and the $8plus billion in 2009 sounds like a working business model geared for the future (sorry Mr. MBA and all haters),

Wise men don't argue over facts -- only fools.

There's a way that you can build the Amway business without attending a meeting, buying tapes or attending seminars. By building a retail business like Rich and Jay did, but it is not as popular. But that is Amway. $8.4 billion in 2009. Wow. Still works.

anon76457Post 24

Oh yeah. I forgot to mention Amway made $8.4 billion in revenue last year. That's not cumulative over the years, that was in one year, 2009 - alone. Hope you guys figure out where the real money is at.

anon76456Post 23

I challenge you to look at the corporation you work for. Does your company have a president? Under him a vice president? Maybe managers then assistant managers, team leads and then employees? Every single corporation is a pyramid. Amway to Baton rouge, I don't care, it's all the same.

But in Amway, you don't answer to a boss. You answer to yourself. Period. You make as much money as the effort your willing to put out. Get it? You shave the boss. As an employee for a conventional job, you get set wages. Nothing beyond that. In Amway the money you can earn is limitless.

I can never earn a million dollars at a regular job, but at Amway I

can. Amway has put more people in business for themselves then any other company in the direct selling industry. In a failing economy, Amway has no debt and will always provide financial solutions for people willing to work.

And why not? I'm working just as hard for a company that will get me nowhere. I've seen it work, so don't tell me that a company that has paid out more then $30 billion in bonuses and incentives since 1959 is going to fail. Every company has lawsuits- especially the wealthiest ones. Didn't Nabisco C. get sued for Oreo Cookies making someone fat? Get real guys, everyone whose in business has lawsuits.

If you have tried Amway and failed, know someone that has failed, great. I'm glad you/they tried. I hope you learned something about yourself.

This company isn't for people who are going to roll over. It's not for you if you don't believe in the system. Which stinks for you because everyone in Amway wants to see you succeed. They care about your dreams and goals, because their success depends on yours. Isn't that a great system?

They don't want to see you fail, so they will help you. Its all positive. Except for the negative criticism that will do nothing to harm Amway's independent business owners, but strengthen them. Because we will know why every criticism you throw at us as absolutely wrong. We're in it remember? Not you.

Karthikeyan, you're absolutely right buddy. What you are thinking is what most of the guys miss out here during listening to this plan.

what these people tell you is not a business plan, but just a sales plan. Nobody in amway can show you actually how the cash flows and how profits are made. because if they do then their idea won't sell.

1)This MLM thing is actually a thing of the past and doesn't really work in today's age of information.

2)Also the pyramid structure they use for marketing is doomed by its design to fail.

Even i was initially attracted to this strategy but then i thought for some time and said "Hey this guy is just selling

me a marketing strategy and a sales plan. Where's the actual business?"

You know these products are highly priced and even if they claim they are of superior quality, where is the demand for them, dude?

For any business to work, there has to be a demand for their product. The only sales happening is you being forced to buy more and more.

So for anyone in doubt like me, please do your own research on the company you will be working so hard for and giving your valuable time to.

"the different levels within the company are known as pin levels. The higher the pin level a person belongs to, the more IBOs he will have working for him. Each pin is named after a precious gem or metal. Among these levels are the Platinum level and the higher Diamond level."

That's a really crappy way of defining the pin level of "platinum" and "diamonds."

The commissions are based on turnover and group performance as well group structure.

Platinum is that person who maintains the 21 percent level in six consecutive months and diamond is that person who has six qualified platinums. A platinum's income varies according to the business structure set by him/her.

Any damn person recruited below

him has an equal chance of earning more than him provided he/she has better group structure and turnover.

The business is based on turnover and commissions is given according to personal retail effort, group structure and effort.

And there is rule that if an ibo does who is at 15 percent level and if he/she does not make personal effort of 50Pv or more than that, then he/she will not be entitled for commission and that commission will pass on to next eligible person.

Comment 12 and 7 are identical, and that makes me think someone is trying to keep the comments on Amway's side.

I'm not investigating this matter too deeply, but I will say for a "business" as big as this one, I haven't found many blogs or websites like this one regarding it. It adds some credibility to this article saying they take down sites bad mouthing them.

And why are so many of the user names "anon"?

Moderator's reply: Users who do not register with the wiseGEEK web site have the "anon" designation. Comments 12 and 7 were posted approximately five months apart. Thank you for visiting wiseGEEK and for contributing to the discussion forums.

trelaPost 18

I am a part of amway and any person who is negative about it is ultimately a quitter. Speak to anybody who owns there own business and is successful and they do the same thing. Read, listen to cds and attend functions.

I am also in outside sales for a company and they require the same thing. Do I tell my boss its a fraud? No.

Think about it, you go to work everyday and your boss puts his kids through school and family is living lovely. Why? Because of your effort you put in into his or her business. So tell me why not get a piece of the pie. Get tax write offs, meet great people

and become positive. I just went to a motivators seminar that had 1,000's of people to see Condolesa Rice, Colen Powell, Julianni, etc. People pay 250.00 plus to see them. They all follow the same format. Its a business mindset that's why they succeed.

To all the Amway, Quickstar and the new and improved Niche-commerce - Im your worst nightmare.

I have my masters from Sheffield Business School in MBA Finance and Marketing was my core in my thesis. So lets cut the chase and understand the basics! Any company that works on Commission or percentage cuts following the Pyramid Martix or the 8 ball scheme is nothing but a failed Business model.

Eg: If a product costs $10 and the commission has to be shared by 10 people at 10% do the math and you'll know how easy it is to get broke!

In plain words, Amway, Quickstar and Niche-commerce....will get you broke in no time!

With the current economy you got no chance even if you have a basic job anyway!

anon59421Post 16

I have never, repeat, never come across anyone who made a real living selling Amway. My sister and her husband went through all the hoopla but were always broke. They maintained two Cadillacs to fool people into thinking "Look, you too can drive a car like this when you sell Amway". Folks, just take a look around your town. Where are the rich Amway distributors?

anon50774Post 14

Life is about a pyramid but Amway is not a pyramid scheme. why are people getting back in amway? (A) because the future is moving so fast in technology in five to ten years' time the money just won't be there and(B) because if you get in now you have a good chance on being up there.

anon47018Post 13

I love the fact that everyone gets touchy about the word pyramid. Truth be known most direct selling programs operate on a pyramid basis. Basically meaning that the only way to make large amounts of money is not to simply sell the product yourself but have the people below you in the pyramid or pipeline (as Amway likes to call it) also selling. A pyramid scam is a bad thing, in these the only money being distributed is the recruitment fees, and making money is dependent on more and more people joining below you. A direct selling company that used a pyramid basis isn’t a bad thing (necessarily) as the money being distributed is devised from selling a product – whether it be Herbalife, Nutrimetics or Amway products. So long as there is a demand for the product there is a chance to make money.

anon41871Post 12

Amway is a business that operates on the basis of pyramid selling" is the wrong statement.

The truth is that it is a direct selling company. Direct selling is the industry which was worth more than $114 billion in 2007. By saying that it is pyramid selling this is telling indirectly that the whole direct selling industry is pyramid selling.

anon38655Post 11

how come i've seen friends who are in their 20s earn six-figure incomes in a year? how come all i've gotten from amway is real friendships with real people? amway works, the only thing that doesn't work is *you* if you work amway. if you want to get informed, don't get informed by quitters and negative people who would go onto the internet and waste time posting bad stuff.

anon35843Post 9

Amway is the biggest lie i have ever heard! All this crap about earning money and so on... i tried doing it for several years but i ended up paying, and not being paied!!! Stay away from amway! *Big lie*! they only want to get you, your time, your money, your life... being dependent on them fully!!! Go, go, go and find yourself a decent job and live your life to the full as an honest man. This is my advice. God bless you and may help you to find real peace and joy in a *real life*!

anon32572Post 8

In a pyramid business the person below you can make more money than you will. W/Amway's business model. If you're a slacker and the person below you isn't he or she will eventually surpass you and you will no longer accumulate points form them.

Second, new distributors are *not* required to purchase an intro kit. There are benefits associated with doing so, but it's definitely not required. (Some "groups, or lines of affiliation as they are called, try to promote them but *Amway* itself does *not*.)

Third, Amway does not sell books or motivational tools. Again, those things are provided by a distributor's line of affiliation. Amway does not make a dime off of those items. Some LOAs

are a bit on the shady side and try to lead new members to believe that they're necessary or required, but they are not. If the new members actually read the registration agreement they sign they would know that they are not required to do any such thing.

Amway provides *free* training on their website for their distributors along with a well trained Customer Support staff that's open six days a week to assist them w/building their business.

"Amway is a business that operates on the basis of pyramid selling" is the wrong statement.

The truth is that it is a direct selling company. Direct selling is the industry which was worth more than $114 billion in 2007. By saying that it is pyramid selling this is telling indirectly that the whole direct selling industry is pyramid selling.

LifeisGoodPost 6

Hey anon, I work for the Department of Defense and it's set up like a pyramid. Using your logic, the defense of our country is a scheme! And dumb me, I work for the government for a salary and my cousin started with Quixtar and works for herself. We started the same year. She's making triple my income and is home with her kids and I'm the one with a business degree!

anon7727Post 4

ibofightback obviously doesn't understand how Amway works.

Yes you don't get a fee for recruiting but that's a technicality. Nearly all active IBO's are constantly recruiting, not to get a fee, but in hopes that their new recruits will move some product and RECRUIT OTHERS!

anon4320Post 3

I had read many articles regarding Ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes long before I encountered "Scamway" and their "interactive distribution" or, as I like to call it, "interruptive distribution." At the first "Scamway" meeting I was invited to I recognized the pyramid scheme and wondered how many idiots there were in the world to not recognize the same. Obviously there are many. I last thwarted an attempt by "Scamway" to bilk my friends and illustrated to them how "Scamway" was a pyramid scheme and they were amazed. They immediately canceled their follow up meeting with the scammers and saved their hard earned money and, probably, a great deal of grief.

ibofightbackPost 1

A few points -

1. Amway has actually shut down far more sites *in support* of it's business model than against it - basically anything they considered a rule violation. They now admit this was a mistake as it meant all that was left on the internet was "critics" sites.

2. Amway makes virtually NO income from business tapes, books etc, as you claim. Some Amway Independent Business Owners have, on their own, set up independent companies for the purpose of offering these kind of services and materials to Amway IBOs. As you would expect, they do profit from that venture.

3. Amway is in no way a "pyramid scheme". In pyramid schemes you make money through recruiting other people

. In Amway you make no money at all through recruiting others. Payments are entirely based on sales volume. Of course, just like if you owned any other business, if you have more sales people then your sales volume is likely to be greater.

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